Introduction To Philosophy Label

 

Introduction To Philosophy Label


An often-quoted Socrates saying is “The unexamined life is not worth living”. As a young man, I thought of philosophy as a lot of meaningless conflicting speculations by long-bearded sages. But as I grew older, I was forced to face some fundamental questions like, for example, that of the existentialists, “What does it mean? Why are we doing this?”. When my parents have both passed away, I see that I am the next in line, and then my children, and then their children. But to what ultimate end? I realized that Socrates was right.

I began to examine life itself, with regard to the materialist-idealist dichotomy, DesCartes's fascinating “I think, therefore I am” argument. It addresses such questions as: What do I know for certain? This study of the nature of knowledge is called Epistemology.

The study of the nature of reality is called Ontology. It considers questions such as: How do we define what is real? Is it possible that much of what we experience is just an illusion?


There was a time in my life when I laughed at questions like this, as mere speculations of long-bearded academics. But as I grew older, I came to realize that those questions had a definite validity, and a practical lesson for each of us. In these posts I will try to explain why they are important.

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